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Caim
) |weight = 75 kg ( ) |occupation = Prince (Judgement, Shi ni Itaru Aka) Union Soldier (Drakengard) Rogue (Drakengard 2) |beast = Red Dragon |price = Voice |mark = Tongue |themark = |voice = Shinnosuke Ikehata (Japanese) Charles Rubendall (English) |status = Deceased (Routes D, E, ) Alive (Routes B, C) |race = Human }} Caim is the main protagonist of Drakengard and an antagonist in Drakengard 2. '' Caim's pact-partner is a Red Dragon. The price of his pact was his ability to speak, and the mark is on his tongue. He is the main playable character available in ''Drakengard and also the most powerful. Story Before Drakengard=Caim is the only son of Gaap, a kind and just king who once ruled a small eastern country named Caerleon. Caim was once a courteous and gentle youth like his father; he easily forgave his fellow man and never held a grudge. He idolized his father and aspired to be like him, clinging closely to Gaap's lessons of swordsmanship and enjoying his sparring sessions with his childhood friend, Inuart. Since Caim spent most of his youth dedicating himself to his extensive sword training, he was completely unaware of the Empire inching closer to his homeland. On his eighteenth birthday, as he hurried to receive his parents' blessings, Caim personally witnessed the Black Dragon devouring his mother. Gaap told his son to escape with Furiae and tried to hold it off; he too fell before it. The death of his parents dealt a deafening blow to both him and the kingdom. Caim learned afterwards that the dragon was sent there by the Watchers, who were associated with the Empire. The only remnant he had left to note his royalty was the bracelet both he and Furiae wear on their left wrist. In his period of grief, Caim's kindness died with his parents. After his kingdom fell to ruin, Caim decided to rely on no one else but himself. He would only believe in his own strength and his sword in the battlefield. When he first left his home and joined the Union, it was with the pure intent of avenging his parents. As the years of fighting the Empire waged on, however, Caim's anger towards his loss gradually manifested into pleasure from killing others. His guilt was dulled with the many lives he took. He justifies to himself that he is fighting for revenge, even if his naysayers state otherwise. Drag-On Dragoon Judgement Caim's past is slightly different in the unfinished comic adaptation, Drag-On Dragoon Judgement. He was popular and surrounded by friends during his home's time of peace. Caim was aware of the Empire prior to his parents' deaths since he helped his father fight them during their first invasion. It was also his first battle, which solidified his favor as heir. When an elderly man witnessed the Goddess's seal on Furiae, Caim killed him in front of his sister to keep it a secret. His behavior changed dramatically after the incident. |-|Drakengard=In an attack on the Castle of the Goddess by the Empire, Caim fights in a fierce battle to protect the Goddess, his sister Furiae. A mighty warrior, Caim slays countless foes, but is soon gravely injured due to his recklessness. As the attack draws into the castle courtyard, Caim finds that the Empire has captured a Red Dragon. Engulfed by hatred, Caim approaches the dragon with murderous intent as images of his parents' death flash through his mind. As Caim raises his sword, the dragon speaks, claiming that even though Caim may kill her, her soul won't be dirtied. Instead of killing her, Caim asks if she wishes to live and offers her a pact, saying that he wishes to live as well. Before the red dragon can give her answer, more imperial soldiers attack. Caim deals with them quickly, asking the dragon once again for her answer. The dragon states that they are bonded by their need to live and accepts the pact. As they fuse their hearts together, the two are healed and become one. The price of Caim's pact, for gaining so much power, was his voice (The dragon speaks for Caim for the rest of the game). Caim and the dragon soar through the sky, destroying the Empire's aircraft, and then proceed to destroy all imperial soldiers on the ground and in the castle. There, he stands with his sister Furiae and his childhood friend, Inuart. They have a moment of peace (which involves showing the two Caim's pact mark on his tongue) before deciding they should hide Furiae elsewhere. They then decide to go to the elven village. When they reach the village of the elves, however, they find that the whole village has been slaughtered. Inuart and Furiae go on ahead to the desert temple seeking Hierarch Verdelet, while Caim stays in the forest. He meets Leonard and attempts to protect the Forest of the Seal. After failing, they decide to go to the desert to protect the seal there. They find Furiae, only to learn that Inuart and Verdelet have been captured by the Empire. Caim heads for the Imperial gaol in the desert and frees Verdelet. As for Inuart, all they find is his harp. The Empire attacks the Desert Seal and succeeds in destroying it. Afterwards, the group finds an elven woman by the name of Arioch, whom is a pact partner with two elementals, Undine and Salemander. After some discussion (and an attempt by her to feast on Caim's flesh), it is decided that Arioch will join them on their journey. Later, Inuart finds Caim, saying that the only way to free Furiae from her burden as a Goddess is to bring her to the Empire. Caim refuses, and the two fight. It is then that Inuart also shows that he is a pact partner with a black dragon, the one that killed Caim's parents. The two dragons do battle as well, with the black dragon gaining the upper hand. Caim rushes in to strike down the black dragon, but is met with a fiery inferno. Protected only by his red dragon, the two lose the battle. Inuart takes Furiae and flies off, leaving his harp behind. With this harsh blow, the group still tries to protect the seals. They manage to find the Ocean Seal, only to lose it as well. Now only one seal remains, Furiae. Before they can start looking for her though, the Empire decides to unleash a massive attack on the Union in a deadly battle. Caim heads through the mountains, finding a young boy, and pact partner with a Golem, Seere. Then they face the Imperial Army together. With Caim and his dragon's strength, they manage to defeat them. Suddenly, the skies turn red, meteors fall to the ground, and the dead Imperial soldiers rise from the dead. Now Caim fights against the undead, and his army is slaughtered. After the battle, Caim heads for the Empire's Sky Fortress. He is met by Inuart once again, and the two battle in the sky. Inuart flees the battle. Caim makes his way to the Sky Fortress. Ending Paths '''the Anguish of an unsmiling Watcher Caim fights through the halls of the fortress, only to find that his sister is already dead. There he sees the priestess of the Cult of Watchers, Manah, dancing. With the last seal broken, the world plummets into chaos. Caim leaves the fortress, only to find Inuart carrying Furiae's dead body. He chases Inuart to the Imperial city, where they fight armies of imperial soldiers as the Seeds of Resurrection appear. There, Caim and the red dragon face off against a grand and legendary dragon, known as the Wyrm. Caim soothes the red dragon, forming an even closer bond, and take down the mighty creature. They arrive at Manah's castle and battle her undead soldiers. Caim turns to face the priestess, but is stopped by Verdelet, who tries to imprison her with a sealing ritual. The ritual fails, however, and Manah grows in size, challenging Caim and his dragon to battle. At her defeat, Manah begs for death, but Caim will not give it to her. For his own revenge, Caim claims that he will make sure the girl will live long enough to see all the horrible things she's done until she is driven insane. Now that the panic is over, the seals must once again be established. The red dragon, to Caim's horror, offers to become the seal. As they have their tragic goodbyes, the red dragon tells Caim her name, Angelus (Angel in Japanese), saying that he is the only human to know her name now. The seal completes, and the red dragon fades away. flowers for the Broken spirit After doing battle with Inuart, Caim tracks him down to stop him from using the Seeds of Resurrection to revive Furiae. He fails to stop him, however, and Furiae is reborn as a monster. She kills Inuart and proceeds to fight Caim. He manages to kill her. As Caim stands on a hill, holding his dead sister in his arms, he gazes out at thousands of Furiae clones that rise around the city to destroy the world. a Companion's eternal farewell After doing battle with Inuart, Caim tracks him down to stop him from using the Seeds of Resurrection to revive Furiae. He manages to stop him and lets him die by the Seed, holding Furiae in his arms. Caim turns his attention to the priestess. He arrives to Manah's temple, only to find that she has been eaten by a dragon. Angelus has also changed, becoming what is known as a Chaos dragon. She says that they must fight, as the dragons plan on killing all of humanity and taking over the world as their own. She breaks the pact, and the two fight. Caim kills Angelus, breaking his own heart in the process. With one last look at his dead friend, Caim runs into the light, ready to face the rising army of dragons. the wild dreams of a Deluded child After making his way into the the Sky Fortress, Caim manages to find Manah. After Seere realizes his sister is beyond hope, he commands his pact partner, Golem, to kill her. With the world driven insane and time itself distorted, the Grotesqueries fly down to kill all humanity. Their leader, the Queen-beast, lies down in the middle of the Imperial city, giving birth to the end of the world. Arioch is eaten, Leonard sacrifices himself to allow the others to escape, and Caim is also defeated along with his red dragon. They, however, manage get Seere on top of the Queen-beast, where he releases his time, freezing a large section of the world forever in time. the End of the dragon sphere Caim and Angelus charge into the Queen-beast, breaking into another world, into the city of Tokyo. There they battle the Queen-beast and destroy her. When the battle is over, they are shot down by jets. Unfortunately, once shot down, magic enters the world where it doesn't belong. This causes a poisoning that wreaks havoc on the world and causes a disease known as the White Chlorination Syndrome to spread, destroying humanity. This ending leads to the events of NIER. Ironically, all of the weapons collected in Drakengard are scattered across, some of them making it into the hands of Nier. |-|Drakengard 2=Caim is charged with the responsibility of taking Manah beneath his wing and showing her the torment she has wrought upon the world. It is imperative that she sees the pain and poverty she has caused to the lands, so that it prevents the same course of action from occurring again. Caim's anger towards Manah lessens as the years drag on. He becomes so fond of her that he gives her his bracelet. In the midst of traveling together, Caim is distracted by Angelus's pain from the seal, as Verdelet has increased the power on it. Manah takes this opportunity and stabs Caim's eye with a hidden dagger, throwing herself off a cliff in the process. This reawakens Caim's anger towards her. Unable to locate her, Caim turns his vengeance on Verdelet and his Knights of the Seal. He hunts him down and kills him, turning his path to the rest of the seals. After years of fighting the knights, Caim grew to be known as The One Eyed Man. He never successfully destroyed a seal, though. He ran into a boy named Nowe and found Manah once again. He attempted to capture her, but failed. He found the District of Shining Life and attacked it. Since the guardian was missing, the attack was easy. He met with Nowe once again, and the two battled. Nowe sought revenge against Caim for killing his adoptive father in an attack on the Seal. Caim faltered for a moment and almost managed to strike a death blow, but Urick jumped in the way. Due to Urick's pact with The Reaper, he didn't die right away. Caim continued to attack Urick until he finally killed him. During Urick's dying moments, he pushed Caim down a seemingly bottomless chasm. Caim didn't die however, and found Angelus after she had been released. However Angelus had become insane due to the tortures of being the seal and didn't recognize Caim. When Angelus flies off to begin another rampage on the world, he told Nowe to kill her to free Angelus from her pain. As Angelus dies, Caim was finally able to reunite with her and the two shared one last moment together. As the two looked at each other with a bond no other knew, Angelus asked, "Is it over, Caim?" He answered, "It's over. We're together now." Caim looked at Nowe with a grateful smile before he faded to ashes with his dragon. Personality Caim has been known for his bloodlust and vengeful ambition. Since the fall of his kingdom and the death of his parents at the hands of Empire, Caim has desired nothing but revenge. Caim lacks empathy and mercy, such as having no hesitance to take many lives. Caim displays a great love for battle and slaughter, as he is shown to have a sadistic grin when in the midst of combat. Despite his grim persona, he has also shows a softer side. He has shown compassion towards his sister, Furiae, and many times puts her safety above his own penchant for revenge. Caim has also developed a strong bond with his pact partner, Angelus over the course of their adventure. His concern for Angelus is so great that he was willing to damn the world to end her suffering. Abilities Caim is able to wield many kinds of different weapons and use many different kinds of magic. However Caim's greatest skill lies in his swordplay, as it is seen to be his most proficient weapon in the game's scenes and cut-scenes. Caim's most unique magic is his fire element, as it his is strongest magical ability and he has greatly improved on it, especially during the 18 years between the games. Development According to Taro Yoko, Caim was conceptualized at the same time as the Red Dragon. The development team wanted to create a "new type of romance" between an elderly woman and a young man and purposely cast them with the same Japanese voice actor. Their amusement over Peter's contrasting performances for both characters led to the dual credits. Yoko commented that Caim is a reckless deconstruction of the hero archetype, as he believes that any game which centers on slaughtering hundreds in war shouldn't deserve a happy ending. He said that Caim was roughly based on Guts from Berserk. In the Dengeki Online interview series, Yoko admits he had no real hand in planning the main story fans are familiar with and can't remember much about Caim's story arc. He can't relate with the popularity of Caim or Angel because he originally wanted to make their relationship similar to a parasitic one with Caim being the "bitch". Takuya Iwasaki was the one most responsible for the love story between the two characters, planning to make Caim the "Romeo" of the pair. When Yoko was asked for his opinion of Caim's tears in Ending A, he replied that he approved them since it's a cliché often seen in happy endings. He wanted that ending to be the one which ended on a definitively positive note and tried to present that as the "happiest" one, thus explaining the blue sky in the final pan. Akira Yasui, the director of Drakengard 2, adds that he considers Caim and Angel friends of war, even though the sequel continues from this ending. Neither he or Yoko could properly identify when exactly Caim's feelings for Angel became romantic. They directed the interviewers to ask more about their relationship to Sawako Natori, Drakengard's main scenario writer. One of the write-in questions for Dengeki Online's Drakengard 3 character popularity questionnaire is a personal question from Yoko asking fans to explain the popularity of the Caim and Angel pairing to him. Character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka has said in a Famitsu interview that he was embarrassed to see his designs from ten years ago and especially regretted Caim's design. He currently has no idea what he was thinking when he drew it. When he redrew Caim for Lord of Vermillon, Fujisaka's main goal for his outfit was to do something which was impossible for the team to render during Drakengard's development. Gallery Drakengard = - Concept = File:Caim.jpg File:Caim_OA.jpg|Caim's pact crest on his tongue. File:Angelus_and_Caim.jpg File:Angelus_with_Caim.png File:Caim-00.jpg File:Caim_-_Original_Artwork.jpg|Some of Caim's first designs for Drakengard. }} - CGI = File:DD1_Caim's Mother CG.png|Caim's mother. - Renders = File:Caim_IG.png File:Caim_FB.png }} |-|Drakengard 2 = - Portraits = File:Caim_01.png File:Caim_02.png File:Caim_03.png File:Caim_04.png }} |-|Drakengard 3 = - Novella = DOD14yearoldssong.jpg|Caim in the Song of Fourteen Years novella. }} - Renders = - Icons = File:DD3 Caim Icon.png|Caim's icon. - }} |-|Other Appearances = - Artwork = File:LoV Artwork - Caim.png File:LoV Artwork - Caim2.png File:Angelus_The_Red_Dragon.jpg }} }} Trivia *Caim was born in May and is a Taurus. *He can sleep with his eyes open. * Caim was named after the 53rd demon of the 72 Demons from The Lesser Key of Solomon. *In Dengeki Online's character popularity poll, he was voted as the most popular character of the series by fans. *A popular nickname for him with the Japanese fandom is "Prince" (王子, ouji). Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Bosses